Office of Public Affairs

Attorney General Sessions Issues Policy and Guidelines on Federal Adoptions of Assets Seized by State or Local Law Enforcement

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with law enforcement officials to announce a new Department of Justice policy regarding the federal adoption of assets seized by state or local law enforcement under state law.

The Department’s new policy strengthens the civil asset forfeiture program to better protect victims of crime and innocent property owners, while streamlining the process to more easily dismantle criminal and terrorist organizations.

The policy and guidelines were formulated after extensive consultation with the Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety, as well as line Assistant United States Attorneys, career officials in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), and career Main Justice attorneys.